ABU DHABI Arfa Rehman from India and Emirati Hamel Al Qubaisi will be two of the UAE’s first Rhodes Scholars after the Rhodes Trust recently announced the launch of the prestigious scholarships for the country.
A pre-eminent international scholarship programme established in 1903, the Rhodes Scholarships support students who demonstrate a strong propensity to emerge as “leaders for the world’s future”. One to two Rhodes Scholars from the UAE will be selected every year from now on, replacing the Falcon Scholarships it was known as during a two year trial period. All Falcon Scholars, past and present, as a result, will now be known as Rhodes Scholars after the UAE scholarship was granted full Rhodes status and their total value will be more than £50,000 per annum.
Oxford-bound
Arfa will read for the MSc in Sociology at St Antony’s College, and hopes to pursue an MBA in her second year at Oxford. She is currently completing a double major in Social Research and Public Policy, and Visual Arts at NYU Abu Dhabi. Hamel will complete his BA in Political Science at NYU Abu Dhabi next month and will read for the MPhil in International Relations at Oxford.
Secretary to the 2015 Selection Committee Dr Christoph Avenarius said: “By introducing the Falcon Scholarship to the UAE in 2014, the Rhodes Trust added a new constituency in recognition of the UAE’s very strong and cosmopolitan student body. It signals trust in the UAE’s growing global significance and in the capability of Oxford trained leaders to make a positive impact on society later in their professional life that these are now to be fully titled as the Rhodes Scholarships for the United Arab Emirates.”
